December 04, 2013
Obey
Obedience, depending on certain areas of our
life, can be a struggle for all of us.
Recently I was taken aback by a speaker in church who added a caveat to
his presentation saying, “If you don’t
obey, you have never truly brought Jesus into your heart.” Ouch, that’s
harsh…and not very well thought out. It would be wonderful if obedience magically
appeared when you accept Jesus into your heart, but that is simply not the case.
Just ask any parent or child, obedience is an acquired taste and a learned
activity. While Jesus was never disobedient, He too learned obedience. The writer
of Hebrews says of Him, “Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what
he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of
eternal salvation for all who obey him…” (Heb 5:8-9 NIV)
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Gail;
-----Good thinking! Clarity comes from simple observation, whether that observation be of events and circumstances or of God’s revealed concepts. I do think the speaker was right in his concept’s proper domain. “Not every one who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven.” (Mat 7:21) The rich young man pressed Jesus for what he needed to do to have eternal life until Jesus told him to sell all his possessions and follow Him. He wasn’t willing to obey this, though he was willing to obey the other. There is an obedience which we must do or we are dead outside of Christ.
-----Yet, of mankind King David says, “They have all fallen away; they are all alike depraved; there is none that does good, no, not one,” (Ps 53:3) and, “…no man living is righteous before Thee.” (Ps 143:2b) Then Solomon wrote of us, “Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins,” (Eccl 7:20) and, “…the hearts of men are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live.” (Eccl 9”3b). So John reminds us, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (I John 1:8) Conceptually, obedience is performing all the standards, abiding within all the boundaries, not breaking any laws, and none of those concepts are described by the preceding quotes, no, not one.
-----So, what gives. I think philosophy is way cool, not because it makes anyone in the room any smarter than anyone else, but because everyone does it. Everyone is a philosopher whether they admit it or not, or whether they even realize it or not. Philosophy is merely the mental map of reality each of us develops in order to navigate the courses of this twisting, writhing world. When I study philosophical mumbo-jumbos of seeming bozos gone by, their ideas look as crazed as does those of the speaker which we’re plucking apart. But I always seem to also notice at least a correct notion in what the bozo is saying, such that he no longer looks quite like a bozo. In fact, when I place his statement in the domain of ideas from which it proceeded, he looks quite bright. And his concept can possibly even map a new path to an unexplored realm of thought in my own mind, if I abide in the domain from which he speaks. Albeit the constant trimming of observation (Scriptural especially) must be applied in charting any new path, otherwise the path might drop you over a cliff.
-----We must do the will of the Father, which is to call out for salvation in the Christ He gave. That’s like saying, “Launch off the starting line!” The finish line doesn’t come until the end of the race. The rich young man wanted to cross the finish line before he launched off the starting line. He lost. But if he would have launched with the finish line in his future desires, he would have ran fast and well! Obedience is placing the next foot in front of the one you’re about to pick up so you don’t fall down. Obedience is conceptually about crossing the finish line when that footfall does cross it. But it is practically about where the bottom of your foot is kicking up the dust now, nothing before that, nothing after it. It is about getting the present moment as right before the Lord as your ability facilitates, letting His mercy cover the rest. And the present moment is a very unique domain indescribable by any other, although somewhat comparable to some others.
Love you all,
Steve Corey
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